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History of Malta - The Fall of the Order
When the Order made Malta its home, for the first time the Masters of the Maltese lived on the Island itself, and wealth poured into the Island, rather than the other way round. The Knights of the Order of St. John came from the noblest and richest families of Europe and a Knight was expected to pass on his property to the Order on his death, but it was not unusual for a member of the Order to make gifts and endowments during his lifetime as well. Six years after the Great Siege the Turks were also defeated at sea, in the Battle of Lepanto, in which the galleys of the Order participated. The finances of the Order were now in a precarious position. Unemployment was rife and poverty was widespread. Towards the end of the 18th century matters for the Order were going from bad to worse: in France, where most of her overseas property lay, the possessions of the Order were taken over by the Republican Government and French refugees, fleeing to Malta from the Revolution, were an added drain on the treasury of the Order. In the wake of his victorious Italian campaign. Napoleon confiscated the Order's property in that country as well. At the time the last Grand Master of Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch was being elected, Napoleon was making his plans to take over the Island.
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